A punishing two-year schedule finally caught up with Australian football's bright young thing Nathan Burns when he tore his right hamstring on Saturday.

Unfortunately for Adelaide United, the injury now casts doubt over the club's A-League finals aspirations, as a three to five week recovery time will sideline Burns until the very end of the regular season.

In his first match back after extensive Olyroos duty, Burns fell to the ground clutching his right leg during the closing stages of United's dramatic 2-2 draw with Melbourne Victory at Telstra Dome.

Subsequent medical consultation has revealed a grade two tear, ruling him out for three to five weeks, meaning he will not be back into action for United until the very end of the regular season.

Following his visit to the doctor, 19-year-old Burns conceded some sort of injury to his overworked body was near inevitable towards the tail end of a punishing 24 months in which he has juggled United games in the A-league, the AFC Asian Champions League and Olyroos duty.

"It could come down to fatigue, I've had a big workload, but we have been managing it over the last 12 months and it's just happened now unfortunately," Burns said.

"(The doctor) said it could be a number of things, we had a hard training session (before the Melbourne game), and you have to consider the last 12 months have been tough for me, I think it just came down to I pushed my body to the limit."

Burns' schedule - his longest break since joining United in 2006 was a 10 day sojourn prior to the Socceroos' pre-Asian Cup training camp earlier this year - has been unforgiving in the extreme.

Added to that on Saturday was a frantic finish as the Victory clambered back from 2-0 down to snatch a draw, the equaliser arriving after Burns had been assisted from the field to leave Adelaide with 10 men after Aurelio Vidmar had used his three substitutes.

Watching the conclusion was a sobering experience for Burns, but he retains hope that United will make light of his absence and nab the finals spot that would allow him to resume in time to push for Socceroos selection in the new year.

"The ladder is so close, and we could even miss out on the finals, if we did it would be disappointing, but I've got confidence in the boys, we have such a good squad," Burns said.

Fellow Olyroo Kristian Sarkies is the most likely beneficiary of Burns' injury, opening up a place for him following recent criticism of his effort by Vidmar.

If Chosen, Sarkies should get an extended run, as Burns and United appear well aware of the risk of re-injuring the hamstring if it is stretched too early.

"Hopefully the injury doesn't happen again," Burns said.

"That is the main concern, because I could push it and come back in three weeks and maybe make the Sydney game, but if you do another hamstring you could be out for six weeks, so it's important I get it right first time."

Adelaide are currently third in the standings, but face a difficult task to maintain their spot over the final five rounds as only six points separate the top five clubs.

Their next assignment is to face table toppers the Central Coast Mariners at Hindmarsh Stadium on Friday night.

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